New pizzeria and Argentinian restaurant Pizzardis will open in Pinellas Park this month
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Pizzardis, an Argentinian restaurant and pizzeria, will open by the end of September in Pinellas Park | St. Pete Rising
A new family-owned restaurant serving pizzas, burgers, empanadas, and other Argentinian dishes is preparing to open in Pinellas Park.
Pizzardis will open at 7820 49th Street North, near England Brothers Park and the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center. The building was previously home to Pinellas Park's Fresh Produce.
Owner Victoria Fecarotta said she and her husband expect to welcome their first customers during the last week of September.
For Fecarotta, the restaurant is rooted in memories of food bringing people together in Argentina, from long Sunday lunches to Friday nights spent sharing pizza with family.
She moved to the United States in 2001 and, after years in the restaurant business and previously owning a restaurant with her husband in Chicago, is ready to open a place of her own in Pinellas County.
The couple has spent more than two years transforming the 1,582-square-foot former produce store into a full-service restaurant.
The project required a change of use, a new kitchen and hood system, and a complete renovation.
Back-to-back hurricanes in 2024 also slowed construction shortly after they signed the lease.
Pizzardis’ fugazzeta is a sauce-free pizza topped with caramelized onions and plenty of cheese | Pizzardis
Pizzardis will draw from Fecarotta’s Argentinian background while offering a large menu that includes American dishes.
“We are opening this restaurant to share a little bit of Argentinian street food with people in Pinellas County,” Fecarotta said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “But I don’t want to be put in an Argentinian food box, because the menu is much more extensive than that.”
The menu will include half-pound burgers, chicken wings, homemade meatballs and meatball sandwiches, salads, and two styles of pizza. One is a hybrid Neapolitan-style pizza cooked in an Italian electric oven, with housemade sauce, fresh toppings, and the charred “leopard spots” common with high-heat pizza.
Pizzardis will also serve three Argentinian-style pizzas, which are pan-cooked with thicker, doughier crusts and a light amount of sauce. The restaurant will use imported Argentinian cheese on those specialty pizzas.
One option is fugazzeta, a sauce-free pizza topped with caramelized onions and a generous amount of cheese. Another, jamón y morrones, comes with ham, roasted peppers, and green olives.
The Argentinian portion of the menu will include baked empanadas with beef, chicken, or ham-and-cheese fillings; choripán, a beef-and-pork chorizo sausage sandwich served with housemade chimichurri; and milanesa, a thin breaded and fried beef or chicken cutlet. Diners can order milanesa with sides or as a sandwich.
Pizzardis will also cook its wings to order rather than pre-cooking them, so they may take a little longer to reach the table.
Pizzardis’ milanesa, a thin, breaded beef or chicken cutlet | Pizzardis
To drink, the restaurant will offer Argentinian Malbec, domestic beers, and a small selection of Italian beers planned.
Dessert options will include torta fritas, fried dough finished with cinnamon sugar, and panqueques, thin Argentinian crepes traditionally filled with dulce de leche.
For now, the restaurant will seat 28 guests between its dining tables and intimate bar. Fecarotta said an outdoor patio is planned for the future.
She hopes Pizzardis becomes the kind of casual neighborhood restaurant where families can gather after a game at nearby England Brothers Park, couples can enjoy an easy dinner, and guests can try something new without feeling intimidated by the menu.
“I want this to be where people come with their spouse or family and have a nice dinner without having to get all dressed up,” she said. “But they’re still getting good food.”
Pizzardis will offer takeout, catering, and delivery.
After opening, Pizzardis plans to operate from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Be sure to follow the restaurant on Facebook for opening updates, food specials, and more.
